LOS ANGELES - The landscape shifted in the National League West in the past week, only if you're the Diamondbacks, it might not have been for the better.

While the Diamondbacks might have taken small steps toward improvement, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers added big-ticket veterans with All-Star resumes.

In the week leading up to Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline, the Dodgers added six All-Star appearances and about $43 million in salary among infielder Hanley Ramirez, outfielder Shane Victorino and reliever Brandon League.

The Giants added a two-time All-Star in outfielder Hunter Pence, who is owed more than $3 million this year.

The Diamondbacks? Their trade deadline was decidedly quieter. They added a third baseman in Chris Johnson who, despite being an upgrade over what they had, has performed in his career as exactly an average major-leaguer by some statistics.

And on Tuesday, they picked up a hard-throwing right-hander in Matt Albers, a reliever who seems to be putting things together this season but who also owns a 4.78 ERA in his seven-year career.

If the trade rumors are to be believed, the Diamondbacks were pushing to do more on Tuesday. But even without the big splash he reportedly was seeking for his rotation, General Manager Kevin Towers said he was comfortable with the team he'll put on the field for the season's final two months.

"We still feel like with all the moves the other clubs made in this division, we feel we're right there," Towers said. "We're right in the rear-view mirror and we've got a chance to compete with them."

The Diamondbacks didn't trade right fielder Justin Upton. They didn't even trade shortstop Stephen Drew. And they apparently weren't willing to part with the pieces necessary to land one of the top-of-the-rotation types made available by non-contending clubs.

Sources indicated the Diamondbacks kicked the tires on Chicago Cubs right-hander Matt Garza, but those talks died almost before they began. Another source said they also inquired with the Boston Red Sox about one or more of their starters -- presumably Josh Beckett or Jon Lester -- but the Diamondbacks apparently were not willing to part with any of their top young pitching prospects.

Of course, separating fact from fiction in baseball's modern trade deadline world is nearly impossible, and it was made even more difficult by the silence coming from the club. With Towers irked by recent media leaks, several within the organization were quiet on Tuesday.

Towers said later that the pitchers the club could have landed didn't represent an upgrade over what they currently had, referencing prospects Pat Corbin, Tyler Skaggs and Trevor Bauer.

"We chose not to do some of those deals," Towers said. "I don't want to get into any details or talk about it. We've still got another 30 days before rosters can be set, so there's still work to be done."

In Albers, who had a 2.29 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with the Red Sox, the Diamondbacks are landing a reliever with a mid-90s fastball whom they believe has the potential to pitch dominant innings late in games. Towers compared Albers' stuff to Diamondbacks setup man David Hernandez.

"A guy with a power arm, a heavy ball, quality secondary pitches, throws strikes," he said. "He can dominate good teams in the middle of the order. You can't have enough of those guys."

To get him, they had to part with effective left-hander Craig Breslow, who has a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings. Both Albers and Breslow will be eligible for free agency after next season.

Even as the Dodgers and Giants were trading blows with their big-name acquisitions, Towers said he didn't feel additional pressure to make a big splash of his own.

"You certainly watch what's going on, but I don't think there should be a knee-jerk reaction to counterpunch just because they've done something," he said. "And sometimes you can do too much.

"Sometimes when you're winning, there's the worry that you can start changing too many pieces. You know, you've won for four or five months, and all of a sudden the chemistry changes drastically and it's not a good thing."